Background:
The Portuguese began to trade with the island of Timór in the early 16th century
and colonized it in mid-century. Skirmishing with the Dutch in the region
eventually resulted in an 1859 treaty in which Portugal ceded the western
portion of the island. Imperial Japan occupied Portuguese Timór from 1942 to
1945, but Portugal resumed colonial authority after the Japanese defeat in World
War II. East Timór declared itself independent from Portugal on 28 November 1975
and was invaded and occupied by Indonesian forces nine days later. It was
incorporated into Indonesia in July 1976 as the province of Timór Timur (East
Timór). An unsuccessful campaign of pacification followed over the next two
decades, during which an estimated 100,000 to 250,000 individuals lost their
lives. On 30 August 1999, in a UN-supervised popular referendum, an overwhelming
majority of the people of Timór-Leste voted for independence from Indonesia.
Between the referendum and the arrival of a multinational peacekeeping force in
late September 1999, anti-independence Timórese militias - organized and
supported by the Indonesian military - commenced a large-scale, scorched-earth
campaign of retribution. The militias killed approximately 1,400 Timórese and
forcibly pushed 300,000 people into western Timór as refugees. The majority of
the country's infrastructure, including homes, irrigation systems, water supply
systems, and schools, and nearly 100% of the country's electrical grid were
destroyed. On 20 September 1999, the Australian-led peacekeeping troops of the
International Force for East Timór (INTERFET) deployed to the country and
brought the violence to an end. On 20 May 2002, Timór-Leste was internationally
recognized as an independent state. In late April 2006, internal tensions
threatened the new nation's security when a military strike led to violence and
a near breakdown of law and order. At Dili's request, an Australian-led
International Stabilization Force (ISF) deployed to Timór-Leste in late May. In
August, the UN Security Council established the UN Integrated Mission in
Timór-Leste (UNMIT), which included an authorized police presence of over 1,600
personnel. The ISF and UNMIT restored stability, allowing for presidential and
parliamentary elections in April and June 2007 in a largely peaceful atmosphere.
In February 2008, a rebel group staged an unsuccessful attack against the
president and prime minister. The ringleader was killed in the attack and the
majority of the rebels surrendered in April 2008. Since the unsuccessful attacks
the government has enjoyed one of its longest periods of post-independence
stability.

Geography - Timór-Leste

Location:
Southeastern Asia, northwest of Australia in the Lesser Sunda Islands at the
eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago; note - Timór-Leste includes the
eastern half of the island of Timór, the Oecussi (Ambeno) region on the
northwest portion of the island of Timór, and the islands of Pulau Atauro and
Pulau Jaco

Independence:
28 November 1975 (independence proclaimed from Portugal); note - 20 May 2002 is
the official date of international recognition of Timór-Leste's independence
from Indonesia

National holiday:
Independence Day, 28 November (1975)

Constitution:
22 March 2002 (based on the Portuguese model)

Legal system:
On 29 March 2009 the president promulgated the Timór-Leste penal code;
UN-drafted legal system based on Indonesian law remains in place for civil codes
but is to be replaced by civil codes based on Portuguese law; these have passed
but have not been promulgated; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
17 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jose RAMOS-HORTA (since 20 May 2007); note - the
president plays a largely symbolic role but is able to veto legislation,
dissolve parliament, and call national elections
head of government: Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana GUSMAO (since 8 August 2007),
note - he formerly used the name Jose Alexandre GUSMAO; Vice Prime Minister
Mario Viegas CARRASCALAO (since 5 March 2009); Vice Prime Minister Jose Luis
GUTERRES (since 8 August 2007)
cabinet: Council of Ministers
(For more information visit the World Leaders website )
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for
a second term); election last held on 9 April 2007 with run-off on 8 May 2007
(next to be held in May 2012); following elections, president appoints leader of
majority party or majority coalition as prime minister
election results: Jose RAMOS-HORTA elected president; percent of vote - Jose
RAMOS-HORTA 69.2%, Francisco GUTTERES 30.8%

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Justice - constitution calls for one judge to be appointed by
National Parliament and rest appointed by Superior Council for Judiciary; note -
until Supreme Court is established, Court of Appeals is highest court

Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Party or PD [Fernando de ARAUJO]; National Congress for Timórese
Reconstruction or CNRT [Xanana GUSMAO]; National Democratic Union of Timórese
Resistance or UNDERTIM [Cornelio DA Conceicao GAMA]; National Unity Party or PUN
[Fernanda BORGES]; People's Party of Timór or PPT [Jacob XAVIER]; Revolutionary
Front of Independent Timór-Leste or FRETILIN [Mari ALKATIRI]; Social Democratic
Association of Timór or ASDT [Francisco Xavier do AMARAL]; Social Democratic
Party or PSD [Zacarias Albano da COSTA]; Sons of the Mountain Warriors or KOTA
[Manuel TILMAN] (also known as Association of Timórese Heroes)

Flag description:
red, with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) superimposed on a
slightly longer yellow arrowhead that extends to the center of the flag; a white
star - pointing to the upper hoist-side corner of the flag - is in the center of
the black triangle; yellow denotes the colonialism in Timór-Leste's past; black
represents the obscurantism that needs to be overcome; red stands for the
national liberation struggle; the white star symbolizes peace and serves as a
guiding light

Economy - Timór-Leste

Economy - overview:
In late 1999, about 70% of the economic infrastructure of Timór-Leste was laid
waste by Indonesian troops and anti-independence militias. Three hundred
thousand people fled westward. Over the next three years a massive international
program, manned by 5,000 peacekeepers (8,000 at peak) and 1,300 police officers,
led to substantial reconstruction in both urban and rural areas. By the end of
2005, refugees had returned or had settled in Indonesia. The country continues
to face great challenges in rebuilding its infrastructure, strengthening the
civil administration, and generating jobs for young people entering the work
force. The development of oil and gas resources in offshore waters has greatly
supplemented government revenues. This technology-intensive industry, however,
has done little to create jobs for the unemployed because there are no
production facilities in Timór. Gas is piped to Australia. In June 2005, the
National Parliament unanimously approved the creation of a Petroleum Fund to
serve as a repository for all petroleum revenues and to preserve the value of
Timór-Leste's petroleum wealth for future generations. The Fund held assets of
US$5.3 billion as of October 2009. The economy has been little impacted by the
global financial crisis and continues to recover strongly from the mid-2006
outbreak of violence and civil unrest, which disrupted both private and public
sector economic activity. The government in 2008 resettled tens of thousands of
an estimated 100,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs); most IDPs returned
home by early 2009. The underlying economic policy challenge the country faces
remains how best to use oil-and-gas wealth to lift the non-oil economy onto a
higher growth path and to reduce poverty.

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
38 (2002 est.)
country comparison to the world: 75

Budget:
revenues: $733 million
expenditures: $309 million
note: the government in 2008 moved to a fiscal year calendar; it passed a
supplementary spending package to cover the latter half of 2008 (FY06/07 est.)

Telephone system:
general assessment: rudimentary service limited to urban areas
domestic: system suffered significant damage during the violence associated with
independence; extremely limited fixed-line services; mobile-cellular services
and coverage limited primarily to urban areas
international: country code - 670; international service is available in major
urban centers

Radio broadcast stations:
at least 21 (Timór-Leste has one national public broadcaster and 20 community
and church radio stations - station frequency types NA) (2007)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (Timór-Leste has one national public broadcaster)

Disputes - international:
Timór-Leste-Indonesia Boundary Committee has resolved all but some sections of
border along Timór-Leste�s Oecussi exclave; maritime boundaries with Indonesia
remain unresolved; many refugees who left Timór-Leste in 2003 still reside in
Indonesia and refuse repatriation; in 2007, Australia and Timór-Leste signed a
50-year development zone and revenue sharing agreement in lieu of a maritime
boundary